Humidity Level For E. decipiens

[Roachman26]

Where do these fall on the humidity scale? Dry, middle of the road, or downright damp? I've recently acquired ten and found my third dead one today. They've got two or three inches of damp soil/coco coir mix, egg flats and a leaf pile. Dog kibble, water crystals and fruit or veggies always available. I mist the sides a little every few days. Room humidity hovers between 40 and 50%. The others in the bin are molting and seem to be doing great. I've got a couple with wing stubs that go half way down the abdomen now. Are these adults? They still seem kinda small, but I don't know this species yet. Mine are the first ones I've ever seen in person and there's not a lot of info out there on them. My other species, acquired in the same shipment, all seem to be doing fine. No other casualties in 7 other species and several hundred individuals. Thanks, Tom

 

[Kevin]

brown/tan wing stubs are adults. I can't tell you much other than that....Im just starting out with them as well.

Kevin

 

[Allpet Roaches]

Where'd you get them from Roachman26?

 

[Zephyr]

Half-way winged ones are adults; Keep a keen eye out for egg cases. They seem particularly good at hiding them.

 

[Roachman26]

Half-way winged ones are adults; Keep a keen eye out for egg cases. They seem particularly good at hiding them.

How big are the babies? Say, in comparison to lateralis? They just molted into maturity in the last few days and I haven't checked the sexes. I'm guessing it will be a few weeks before I get any egg cases, IF I've got males AND females.

Humidity?

 

[Zephyr]

How big are the babies? Say, in comparison to lateralis? They just molted into maturity in the last few days and I haven't checked the sexes. I'm guessing it will be a few weeks before I get any egg cases, IF I've got males AND females.Humidity?

I haven't gotten any babies yet; tons of really well hidden ooths though.

I'd guess the babies are about twice the size of B. lateralis.

I have mine really humid; Probably up past 80%, but that's only because I can't get dry heat with the setup they're in.

 

[Matt K]

This is an adult:

...and like many roaches, the adults can vary in size somewhat. Mine average males 1 to 1-1/4 inch, and females 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inch, maybe slighty more.

When the oothca start to hatch, you will have loads of 1/8 to 3/16ths inch black oval bodied nymphs running around everywhere, and they start getting black and white banded within the next molt or two, as they close in on maturity they get the amber coloration as well. They are a bud-winged roach, so no adults will have full length wings.

When you have several adults, it gets easy to distinguish males and females, more so by comparing the posterior ends as males and females are different enough to be somewhat obvious.



As for the deaths, could they be too damp? Humid is good, wet not so much. They need to be ventilated enough so that if you spray them down, they will dry off within the day or so.

? ? ? ?

Do you have a photo of yours in thier setup to post? That is always helpful....

:blink:

 

[Roachman26]

This is an adult:

...and like many roaches, the adults can vary in size somewhat. Mine average males 1 to 1-1/4 inch, and females 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inch, maybe slighty more.

When the oothca start to hatch, you will have loads of 1/8 to 3/16ths inch black oval bodied nymphs running around everywhere, and they start getting black and white banded within the next molt or two, as they close in on maturity they get the amber coloration as well. They are a bud-winged roach, so no adults will have full length wings.

When you have several adults, it gets easy to distinguish males and females, more so by comparing the posterior ends as males and females are different enough to be somewhat obvious.



As for the deaths, could they be too damp? Humid is good, wet not so much. They need to be ventilated enough so that if you spray them down, they will dry off within the day or so.

? ? ? ?

Do you have a photo of yours in thier setup to post? That is always helpful....

:blink:

I'll post a photo ASAP. They do dry out within a few hours when I give them a light misting. I keep one of the front corners damp, a la "MattK" style. I just pour some water into that one spot every few days. Most of their substrate is pretty dry on top and just a little moist deeper. That one corner is damp and that's also where I keep the water crystals.

I have a feeling I was keeping them too dry. Since the room humidity has gotten up to 50%, I've mostly stopped misting as I got a couple bins starting to mold.

When I found the third dead one, I gave the decipiens a little misting and they all came out and started drinking the droplets off the side. That's how I saw that I had some adults now. As I said before, they have dog kibble, water crystals and some form of "wet" food at all times. So I don't know why they would be so thirsty unless they just aren't going to the water and food. The kibble always looks a little munched on, so I know at least some of them are going to it.

BTW, that is a fantastic pic!

 

[Matt K]

....I have a feeling I was keeping them too dry. Since the room humidity has gotten up to 50%, I've mostly stopped misting as I got a couple bins starting to mold.

....

BTW, that is a fantastic pic!

Thanks- I wish that one woudl have held still as it was hard to photo on the run with my cheesy camera.

Orin taught me one of the "things" that make this hobby a habby and not a connect the dots picture is that humidity levels vary from one house, one state, one region to another and its a matter of learning what whorks for you to balance that out. The object is to have them as dry or humid as they need to be to not totally dry out and die, and yet get the water they need to drink. Some substrates can look dry but really be quite humid, and some look dry because they are. Just have to fiddle with it yourself and see what works best for you.

No doubt you will get it under control and then will have too many of them!

 

[Zephyr]

Just a semi-related question; At what rate will the females lay ooths at about 85 degrees?

 

[Matt K]

Just a semi-related question; At what rate will the females lay ooths at about 85 degrees?

Once every 33.721 days at 600 feet above sea level, assuming they are each consuming at least 5.94 grams of fruit and vegetables and the temperature is stable.



Seriously, I see questions regularly on "how often does this or that roach lay eggs at whatever temperature", "how fast do they grow", "etc." and it makes me koo koo! Roach keeping is a hobby, not an exact science. There are alot of variables in everyones home and husbandry habits that throw off- sometimes way off- whatever cycle a roach may "normally" have. For some people its frequent, and others not so much- its all relative. Let me repeat that in other threads too- Its All Relative. There is not really any study of a single male and female roach in a clear featureless container that studies (times) when a female lays an ootheca to the time it hatches, or when she lays another. In my bin, there are numerous roaches in alot of egg cartons with hiding places, and I don't watch them all day and night, nor do I go in and count how many ootheca there are every day to compare numbers and get an estimate on a rate, so I could not directly answer that question with anything other than "more frequently than other roaches I have".

My chickens, for example, may lay one egg each per day, maybe none, maybe three. In the winter its more likely to be one every other day and in the summer more likely to be two a day, but no one knows for sure depending on what I feed, how often I feed, and if they free range lately or not, and more importantly- not until an egg is actually laid.

So the moral is roaches are not predictable machines of nature- you may get one ootheca for E.decipiens every 3 months, you may get 4 or 5 every three weeks, all things depending.

So to answer the question finally- How many are you getting from your roaches? That is the rate they lay ootheca.